Common Critical Marks
After teaching this class for a number of years, I've
discovered that I put a lot of the same marks on papers over and
over again. This is a lexicon of those marks and where you can
turn for help. Underlined words are links to other pages. Please
let me know if there is a symbol that I use that you would like
me to include here.
- AWK - Signifies that the sentence has been
constructed in an awkward manner. For instance, you might
have written: "Throw me down the stairs my
shoes." When that is not what you meant. If you see
this comment frequently, you need to softly read your
work to yourself so that you can hear awkward phrasing.
Most of us speak with dexterity, so we should hear
awkward phrasing.
- CONCRETE EXAMPLE? - Don't pat yourself on the back, this
means you forgot to include one. If you aren't sure what
concrete examples are, head to the page that covers Concrete Examples.
- LINK?
- This signifies that you have not provided the reader a
link between two sentences within a paragraph. This
usually occurs when your mind is working faster than your
hands. To remedy this, add a sentence that ties the two
thoughts together.
- LINK TO THESIS? You have not tied the end of a body
paragraph to the overall thesis. This is vital as it
shows the reader how each body paragraph supports the
overall argument as set forth in the thesis.
- Only 2 (or 1) Body Paragraph???-- This is a bad one. This means you have
not mastered the organizational pattern for the essays
(at least for my classes). So, if you see this, head back
to Page which covers organizing your essay.
- PHRASING - similar to AWK, but this is usually
only within a clause, not the entire sentence.
- PRON REF - When you see this, it means that you
have used so many pronouns that I am no longer certain
what a specific pronoun refers to. For instance, if you
write, "Pitino and Smith are both great coaches but
he will be the one to lead them to greatness." The
reader doesn't now which he you are referring to. Nor
does the reader have any clue who "them" refers
to. Your textbook (The Allyn Bacon Handbook) covers
this in detail on pages 296 to 306.
- PUMP UP AGD - You either have no AGD or it is too
thin to be effective. For assistance, see the page that
deals with AGDs.
- STRIVE FOR A MORE MATURE VOICE - When I put this on your paper, I mean
that your writing sounds like it was written by someone
with less life and educational experience than you. This
may require you to work on your vocabulary, look for more
significant concrete examples, or work on syntax.
- S/V --
Another bad one. This refers to Subject-Verb Agreement.
This problem, if persistent, can really spoil your
credibility in the eyes of the reader. Your textbook (The
Allyn Bacon Handbook) covers this issue thoroughly
from pages 247 to 262. You may do training drills to fix
S/V in the CSC with
a program called "blue pencil."
- SYNTAX
- This refers to the way you put words together to form
sentences, paragraphs, and larger works. This is a larger
version of AWK. This is a problem that is common to folks
to whom English is not their native language.
- TOO THIN -- Just what it sound like. The section
I'm referring to has not been fully covered. If this is
applied to a bibliography it means that you did not do
enough research.
- VERB FORM -- This means that you are using the
wrong form of a particular verb. For instance, if you
write, "They be happy." Or "Bizarro am
Angry." Blue pencil has drills to correct this. Your
book (The Allyn Bacon Handbook) talks about
verbs in great depths.
- VERB NUMBER -- This simply means that a verb's
plurality or singularity must match the Noun to which it
refers. A single subject has to have a single verb and plural subjects have to have a
plural verb.
- VOICE SHIFTS --Your book (The Allyn Bacon
Handbook) covers this rather thoroughly on pages
325-326. This refers to shifts in the "person"
in which you are writing. It is usually a shift from
third to first person. Pick one and stick with it.
- WEAK WORD -- This mark means your vocabulary is
showing. You have used a vague, meaningless word when a
more descriptive, concrete, vivid word would have
strengthened the meaning of your writing for the reader.
Words that will always attract this comment include:
"things, crap, stuff, etc., you know, and
junk."
- W/C --
This refers to your word choice. By this I mean you have
chosen a word that was not your best strategic option.
For instance if you say, "Anxiety makes me feel
bad." That's a no-brainer, but it really doesn't
tell the reader how anxiety makes you feel. A better word
choice might be: "Anxiety makes me feel as if I am
being slowly electrocuted.
(more to come!!!!!) Email suggestions to
Sophist@Bigfoot.Com